He only has one page on this sura. This is very much a tafsir
bi'r-riwaya. As-Suyuti (d. 911/1505) was a famous Egyptian Shafi'i scholar.
He takes a very simple approach, looking for any judgements contained in
the ayats or any hadiths about it. He starts with the meaning

2. "Harshly rebuffs" means "he is hard to him and wrongs him," according
to Ibn Abi Hatim.

4. "those who are forgetful of their prayer." The Prophet said that
"they are those who delay the prayer beyond its time." (at-Tabari, at-Tabarani
and Abu Ya'la from the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. Al-Firyabi has
it mawquf and al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi considered it sound.) Mus'ab,
Sa'd's son, asked him about this, "Which of us does not forget? Which of
us does not have his self speak to him?" He replied, "That is not what it
is about. It is about missing the time." (Ibn Abi Hatim) Abu'l-'Aliyya said,
"It is reciting this and that, looking to his right and his left."

6 "those who show off" criticises showing off.

7. "deny help to others." This is encouragement for making the
'ariyya - the loan of the use of something. An-Nasa'i transmitted from
Ibn Mas'ud, "We considered the ma'un in the time of the Messenger of Allah
to be the lending of a bucket or pot." Al-Bazzar added, "Or an axe." Ibn
Abi Hatim transmitted it with "Loans means pots, scales, and buckets." Ibn
Jarir said, "We said that denying help was to refuse to lend a bucket and
the like." Ibn Abi Hatim transmitted from the hadith of 'A'id ibn Rabi'a
an-Namiri said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "So not deny help." They asked, "And what is denying help?" He said,
"It is in [lending] stones, iron and water." Sa'id ibn Mansur reported that
Ibn 'Abbas said, "That it is the lending of things." It is, however, reported
from 'Ali that it is refusing to pay zakat. Ibn 'Umar said, "Ma'un is the
property whose right is paid." 'Ikrima said, "The head of ma'un is the zakat
on property and the least of it is a shovel, bucket and needle.' Muhammad
ibn Ka'b said that is an act of charity (ma'ruf).

Ibn Juzayy

Ibn Juzayy is a little earlier than as-Suyuti. He was from Granada and a
Maliki (d. 741/1340). His tafsir is entitled at-Tahsil fi 'Ulum at-Tafsir
(Making Things Easy in the Sciences of Tafsir). Instead of immediately
starting with the meanings, he begins by telling us when it was sent down,
and then deals with each individual ayat:

The first three ayats are Makkan and the rest Madinan. It has 7 ayats. and
it was sent down after al-Takathur.

"Have you seen him who denies the deen?" It is said that this was
sent down about Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. It was said that it is
general. Here the deen can mean the religion or the repayment.

"He is the one who rebuffs the orphan" i.e. repels him with harshness.
This repelling can be in not feeding him and not being good to him or about
his property and rights. This is stronger criticism than "and does not
urge feeding the poor". He does not feed him "properly". This sentence
is the apodosis of "Have you seen?" because its meaning is: "Inform
me". It is as if it is a question. The meaning is: look at the one who denies
the deen and you will find these ugly questions and evil actions.
That is because the deen moves the one who has it to do good actions and
abandoning evil actions. So the aim of the words is to censure the rejectors
and their states, who were doing all of these things.

"So woe to those who pray, who are forgetful of their prayer" It is
said that this was sent down about 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the famous
hypocrite in Madina. According to this, half of the sura is Makkan
and half of it is Madinan. Abu Zayd as-Suhayl said that. That is because
that the mention of Abu Jahl and other rejectors comes mostly in the Makkan
suras. Unmindfulness in the prayer and showing off in it are part
of the attributes of those who were in Madina, especially according to the
words of the one who says that it is about 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy. It is also
said that it is all Makkan, which is the most well known view. According
to this, the end of it was sent down about a man who became Muslim in Makka
and did not have sound belief. It is also said that it is Madinan and that
unmindfulness of the prayer means abandoning it and delaying it beyond its
time. 'Ata' ibn Yasar said, "Praise be to Allah who said, 'unmindful
of their prayer' and did not say 'in their prayer.'"

"those who show off" It comes from showing off, i.e. their prayer
is to show off to people, not for Allah.

"and deny help" He describes them as being miserly and not helping
people. Four things are said about ma'un. The first is that it is
zakat. The second is that it means wealth in the dialect of Quraysh.
The third is that it is denying water. The fourth is that it refers to what
people give to one another, like vessels, axes, buckets and scissors. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "What
is it lawful to refuse to give?" He replied, "Water, fire, salt," and it
adds in some versions, "needles and yeast."

Ahkam al-Qur'an: Qadi Ibn al-'Arabi

"The Judgements of the Qur'an" This is clearly about legal rulings as is
the casee with many tafsirs. Qadi Ibn al-'Arabi (d. 543/1148) came from Seville
and was qadi there for the Murabitun, and finished his life in Morocco after
the Muwahhidun came to power where he eventually died.

There are three points in "those who are forgetful of their prayer".

1. Forgetfulness is abandoning, and that can be either intentional or
unintentional. It is is intentional, that is deliberate, If it is unintentional,
it is forgetfulness (sahw) for which there is no responsibility.

2. It is impossible for the forgetful person to be responsible because he
does not understand the requirement. If it is asked, "How can the one who
does not understand criticism be criticised or the one who is not responsible
be charged with responsibility?" there are two aspects to the answer. One
is that if the person had an intention to leave the prayer, he is censured
when the time of the prayer comes, whether if he was heedless at that actual
moment or if it is simply his habit to omit it. Then censure is always connected
to him. This does not include the one who overlooks something in his prayer.

3. It is impossible to be completely free of forgetfulness. The Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forgot in his prayer as did the
Companions. If someone does not ever forget in his prayer, that is a person
who does not reflect and does not understand his recitation. His concern
is for the number of rak'ats. This is a man who eats the husk and
leaves the core. The only thing that made the Prophet forget in his prayer
was reflecting on what was greater than it. O Allah, may a person who forgets
in his prayer not be the one who turns to the whispering of shaytan when
he tells him, "Remember this. Remember that," until he does not remember
how much he has prayed.

"Those who show off and deny help to others."

Ibn Wahb said that Malik said that these are the hypocrites who make a show
of their prayer. A hypocrite shows people that he is praying in obedience
to Allah, but he is praying out of taqiyya (dissimulation). A
fasiq prays so that he will be accepted as someone who prays.

The reality of riya' is to seek this world by worship. Its basis is
to seek to enjoy a position in people's hearts. The beginning of it is good
reputation, and he desires to obtain rank and praise by that. The second
level is showing off by wearing short clothes and coarse clothes to give
an appearance of asceticism in this world. The third is to show off by verbal
expression by displaying anger against the people of this world and admonition
while he actually regrets not having wealth and their worship. The fourth
is making a public display of the prayer and sadaqa or making the prayer
appear good so that people will see it. It is also making the prayer long.

"deny help to others" has 3 points.

1. The first is the definition of the word. Ma'ün is derived
from the verb help (a'ana). It means to assist with strength, tools
and means to make something easy.

2. The second point refers to the positions of scholars on it. Scholars have
6 views on the meaning of ma'ün.

1. Malik says that it refers to zakat, and that it means that the
hypocrite refuses to pay it. Abu Bakr ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz reported that Malik
said, "I have heard that this is meaning of the words of Allah, 'So woe
to those who pray, who are forgetful of their prayer. Those who show off
and deny help to others.' The hypocrite is the one who, when he prays,
does so to show off. If he misses the prayer, he feels no regret. They refuse
to pay the zakat which Allah has obliged on them." Zayd ibn Aslam
said, "If the prayer had been lightened for them like zakat, they
would not have prayed."

2. Ibn Shihab says that it means wealth.

3. Ibn 'Abbas said that it is what people lend to one another.

4. It is pots, buckets, axes and the like.

5. It is water and pasturage.

6. It is water alone.

3. The third point is that since it is clear the ma'un is part of help, that
is why the commentators have mentioned all types of help. The greatest of
them is zakat. The level of censure is compensurate with the extent of refusal
to pay. Lending something is not a personal obligation, but a general one,
and Allah knows best.

"Woe" can only be used for someone who denies the obligation, and that is
how they define it.

Al-Qurtubi:

Al-Qurtubi (d. 671/1273), as his name shows, was from Cordoba. He is a famous
mufassir and his 20 volume tafsir is called al-Jami' li-Ahkam
al-Qur'an. He delights in the meanings of the various qira'at and
the diversity of views of different commentators which produce layered meanings.
As the title implies, he particularly concentrates on the legal rulings in
the text.

He says that there are six points in this sura.

"The one who denies the deen" is the one who denies that there will
be repayment and reckoning in the next World. There is disagreement about
whom it was revealed. It is reported from Ibn 'Abbas that it was revealed
about al-'As ibn Wa'il as-Sahmi. Al-Kalbi and Muqatil also said that. It
is reported that ad-Dahhak said, "It was revealed about a man of the hypocrites."
As-Suddi said that it was revealed about al-Walid ibn al-Mughira. It is also
said that it was revealed about Abu Jahl. Ad-Dahhak also said that it was
revealed about 'Amr ibn A'idh. Ibn Jurayj said it was about Abu Sufyan who
used to slaughter a camel every week. When an orphan asked him for some of
it, he hit him with a stick, Ibn 'Abbas says that it means he drives the
orphan away from what is his right. Qatada said he wrongs him. The Prophet
said about the orphan, "If someone takes care of a Muslim orphan until he
becomes independent, the Garden is mandatory for him."

2. "He does not does not urge the feeding of the poor" because of
his miserliness and denying the final repayment in the Next World. That is
like the words of Allah, "nor did he urge the feeding of the poor." (69:34).
Censure is not general and so it does not apply to someone who is unable
to do it. Rather it is those who were miserly and made excuses for themselves.
They say, as in Yasin (36:47), "Why should we feed someone whom,
if He willed, Allah would feed Himself?" This ayat was revealed about
those people. It means: They do not do it when they are able to do, and they
do not urge if when they are unable to do it.

3. Then about "woe to those who pray" ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn
'Abbas that this is about the one who prays without hoping for a reward,
and if he leaves off doing it, he does not fear a penalty for not doing it.
He also said that it is those who delay the prayer beyond its time." Ibrahim
said that it is delaying it beyond the time, saying that "sahun" means
"missing the moment". Abu'l-'Aliyya said that they do not pray the prayer
at its time and do not fully complete the ruku' and prostration."

This also refers to the words of Allah, "An evil generation succeeded
them who neglected the prayer." (19:59) Ibrahim also said that it refers
to someone who, when he prostrates, moves his head as if he were turning.
Qutrub says, "He does not recite nor remember Allah." The reading of 'Abdullah
ibn Mas'ud had "those who are diverted from their prayer" (lahün
instead of sahün). Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas said that it refers to
delaying it beyond its time because they think little of doing so.

Ibn 'Abbas said that it is the hypocrites who abandon the prayer secretly
while they pray it openly. They are described in "When they get up to
pray, they get up lazily, showing off to people, and only remembering Allah
a little." (4:142) This indicates that the hypocrites are meant here.
Ibn Wahb reported that from Malik. Ibn 'Abbas pointed out that if it had
been about the believers, Allah would have said, "those who are heedless
in their prayer." 'Ata' said, "Praise be to Allah! He said 'of their
prayer' and not 'in their prayer!'" Az-Zamakhshari discussed this difference
and says that "of" means about doing it, and lack of concern for it, which
is the action of the hypocrites or the impious Muslims. "In' is forgetfulness
which occurs due to the whispering of shaytan or the chatter of the self
of which no one is free. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, forgot in his prayer and this is why fuqaha' have established
the topic of the prostration of forgetfulness.'

[Then he quotes Ibn al-'Arabi in the Ahkam, already mentioned.]

4. The fourth point is on "those who show off." This is the point
of Ibn al-'Arabi about the reality of showing off. He points out that he
already mentioned the reality and rules of hypocrisy in other suras.

5. The fifth point is that a man is not showing off by displaying righteous
action if it is obligatory. It is part of the right of obligations to made
public and well known since the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "There
is no veiling in the obligations of Allah" because they are the signs of
Islam and hallmarks of the deen, and because someone who abandons them deserves
to be censured and hated. So one removes suspicion by making them public.
If the actions are voluntary, then a person should conceal those actions
because he is not censured for leaving them or suspect in that. If he displays
them with the intention that he will be imitated, then it is good. Showing
off is when he intends to show them so that people will see him and praise
him for righteousness. It is reported from one of them that he saw a man
in a mosque who performed the prostration of thankfulness and made it long.
He remarked, "How much better this would be if it had been done in your house!"
He said this because he noticed in him the showing off and the desire for
reputation.

The sixth point is about ma'un, and he says that there are 12 views
about it:

1. Zakat on property as related by Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ali and Malik. What is meant
is that the hypocrite refuses to pay it. Malik said, "I have heard that the
words of Allah (quoting the ayat) mean that when the hypocrite prays, he
prays to show off. If he misses the prayer, he does not regret it. Their
denial of help means the zakat which Allah has obliged on them."

3. It is a generic noun for all household tools, like axes, pots, fire and
the like. Ibn Mas'ud said that and it is also reported from Ibn 'Abbas.

4. Az-Zajjaj, Abu 'Ubayd and al-Mubarrad said that in the Jahiliyya
ma'un designated all that contains some use, even an axe, pot, bucket
and flint, and anything else which has a use, small or large. They said that
ma'un in Islam is obeidence and zakat.

5. It is a loan ('ariyya). That is also reported from Ibn 'Abbas.

6. It is all forms of charity (ma'ruf) which people give to one another.
Muhammad ibn Ka'b and al-Kalbi said that.

7. It is water and pasturage.

8. It is just water. Al-Farra' said that he heard some Arabs use ma'un
to mean water.

9. It is refusing hand over to someone his right. 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said
that.

10. It is the yield from the use of property, derived from ma'n (scarce)
which means what is scarce. At-Tabari related that as did Ibn 'Abbas. Qutrub
said that the root of ma'ün is scantness, ma'n. The Arabs
say, "His property is ample, not scant (ma'na)." Allah referred to
zakat, sadaqa and similar charity as ma'un becaue it
is a little taken from a lot. Some people say that the root of ma'un
is ma'üna, as al-Jawhari says. Ibn al-'Arabi says that ma'ün
is a passive form from a'ana, yu'in, and 'awn means helping
with strength, tools and the means to bring something about.

11. It is obedience and submission. Al-Akhfash reported a verbal usage of
it when referring to a camel.

12. It is said that it is what unlawful to refuse, like water, salt and fire
because 'A'isha said, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah what is it unlawful to
refuse?' He replied, "Water, fire and salt." I said, "Messenger of Allah,
I understand water, What about fire and salt?' He said, ''A'isha, if someone
gives fire, it is as if he were giving as sadaqa all that is cooked with
that fire. If someone gives salt, it is as if he is giving as sadaqa for
all that is made tasty by that salt. If someone gives a drink of water when
there is water available, it is as if he had set free sixty souls. If he
gives a drink of water where there is no water available, it is as he gave
life to soul. Whoever gives life to a soul, it is as if he had given life
to all mankind." Ath-Tha'labi mentioned this in his tafsir and Ibn Majah
transmitted it in the Sunan. There is some looseness in its isnad.

Al-Mawardi said that it is possible that it is helping with what is easy
to do but which Allah has made heavy. Allah knows best. 'Ikrima was asked,
"Will someone who refuses any goods to use have woe?" "No," he replied, but
whoever combines all three will have woe: abandoning the prayer, showing
off, and being miserly with help."

That is more applicable to the hypocrites because they have all three of
these attributes. Allah says, "When they get up to pray, they get up lazily,
showing off to people, and only remembering Allah a little." (4:142)
and He says, "They only give reluctantly." (9:54) These are their states.
It is unlikely that all of these will exist in a true Muslim. If some of
them exist, he is rebuked: denying help when he is asked and abandoning the
prayer, and Allah knows best. It is an ugly denial in good character when
that is not necessary. Allah knows best.

Ruh al-Bayan

This Ruh al-Bayan is not the famous one, by one by a Turkish Shaykh,
Isma'il Baqqi al-Burusawi, (d. 1123/1711). This is more of a Sufi tafsir.

"He does not urge": He does not encourage his family and other
wealthy people. If he does not encourage others, how can be himself do it?
"Feeding of the poor" ascribes "feeding" to the poor and indicates
that the poor have a right and share in the property of the wealthy and that
he is denying the poor his right to which he is entitled: this is extreme
miserliness and hard-heartedness. If someone says, "A person may not encourage
in many states and that is not considered a sin, so how can he be blamed
for it?" The answer is, "Because his lack of urging it is due to his lack
of belief in the reward. So his lack of urging indicates his miserliness
and denying charity to the needy. This is why it is followed by "woe", because
it denotes denial of the deen.

Forgetfulness is negligence. There are two types of that. One is that it
does not have a cause and is not a result of something else, like a madman
cursing a person. The second is that it is due to a cause, like someone drinking
wine and then doing something objectionable which he did not intend to do.
The first is overlooked but he is punished for the second. Part of it is
what Allah has censured in this ayat. By "being forgetful of their prayer,"
what is meant is abandoning it, lack of concern for it, and paying little
attention to it. That is the action of the hypocrites and believers who are
fasiq. Anas said, "Praise be to Allah who said, 'unmindful of their
prayerŐ'and did not say 'in their prayer.'" If He had said, "in their prayer",
forgetfulness afflicts them while they are praying, either by the whispering
of Shaytan or the chatter of the nafs, and a Muslim is not free of
that and it is extremely difficult to be free of it. When this ayat was revealed,
the Prophet said, "This is better for you than each of you being given the
equivalent of the entire world."

Was there any forgetfulness (sahw) on the part of the Prophet? Yes,
as he said, "They distracted us from the 'Asr prayer," meaning on
the day of the Battle of the Ditch. "May Allah fill their hearts with fire!"
He also forgot the Fajr prayer on the night when he overslept. He
prayed Dhuhr with two rak'ats and then said the salam.
Abu Bakr said to him, "You prayed two rak'ats." He stood and prayed
two rak'ats. His forgetting in what we mentioned was not like the
forgetfulness of the rest of people. The Prophet was constantly in absorption
and attraction. He said, "My eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep." In
it he indicates forgetfulness due to witnessing the subtle meanings of the
prayer and heedlessness to its secrets and knowledges, Ibn Mas'ud recited
lahun in place of sahun. If an intelligent person misses the
prayer inasmuch as it is part of ascent and intimate conversation, he must
not be careless in it by fiddling with the beard and clothes nor yawning
a lot and looking about and the like. Some of those who pray do not how how
much they have done or recited.

"Show off" They show off their actions to people so that they see
them and are praised for them. Then one must combine the reality and the
metaphor because praise is not connected to simply seeing something. It is
applied to metaphors in general or to gnosis. It says in al-Kashshaf:
"If a righteous action is fard, part of the right of obligations is
that they are made public and known since the Prophet said, "There is no
veiling in the obligations of Allah" because they are the signs of Islam
and hallmarks of the deen, and because someone who abandons them deserves
to be censured and hated. So he removes suspicion by making them public.
If it is voluntary, then he should conceal them because he is not censured
for leaving them or suspect in it. If he displays them with the intention
that he will be imitated, then it is good. Showing off is when he intends
to show them so that people will see him and praise him for righteousness."
[Qurtubi]

It is difficult to avoid showing off because it is more hidden than the tiny
black ant in a dark night on a black stone. The difference between the show
off and the hypocrite is that the hypocrite conceals disbelief and makes
a show of faith. The show off displays increased humility and the signs of
righteousness so that those who see him will believe that he is one of the
people of righteousness. The reality of showing is to seek this world through
worship. It indicates that a person who attributes his actions and advancement
to himself shows off.

"Denies help" From ma'n, which is the scant thing. Zakat
is called ma'un because it is 2.5% of property which is little from
a lot. Abu'l-Layth said, "Ma'un means wealth in the dialect of the
Abyssinians."

The meaning is: they refuse to pay zakat, as is indicated because
it follows mention of the prayer. Or it refers to what people normally lend
to one another. If there is lack of concern for orphans and the poor, that
comes from lack of belief in the reward and as such deserves censure and
rebuke. Even more worthy to rebuke is lack of concern for the prayer which
is the pillar of the deen and showing off which is a branch of kufr
and refusing zakat which is the supporting arch of Islam and constitutes
bad behaviour with people. How many do you see among those call themselves
Muslim? Indeed, there are scholars among them who are like this. What a
misfortune!

What is meant by what people normally lend to one another is what they lend
to help one another, lending things like axes, pots, buckets, needles, plates,
spindles, fire, water, and salt and the like, even if your neighbour asks
to cook in your oven or leave his goods with you for a day and a half. 'A'isha
said, "Messenger of Allah, what is it unlawful to refuse?' He replied, "Water,
fire and salt." I said, "Messenger of Allah, I understand water, What about
fire and salt?' He said, 'Humayra', if someone gives fire, it is as if he
were giving as sadaqa all that is cooked with that fire. If someone
gives salt, it is as if he is giving as sadaqa for all that is made tasty
by that salt. If he gives a drink of water where there is no water, it ia
as he gave life to soul. " This is in the Kashf al-Asrar. It is forbidden
to refuse thee things in the Shari'a when they are borrowed because of need.
It is ugly in good character when it is not a case of need.